Heroically Stoically
by Sunflower Hollow
Summary: A blank face masks emotions like a piece of still artwork. But not all artwork is butterflies and perfect relationships. The prettiest melody can be the saddest one, the most perfect picture can be the one hiding the most secrets. But the most joyous moments can be the most memorable. Summary cont. inside (Genre is general because I'm covering them all.)


**Summary cont. This doe****s ****tak****e place in the Ninjago Universe, but it takes some liberties with this universe (This includes some map explanation, OCs, and new places for the characters to interact with.) and I'm hoping to expand on the world as a whole, so sort of a rewrite and AU, but keeping to the original storyline as close as possible.**

**The name and description correlate to the mask that your destiny being decided for you creates, as this pertains to so many of these characters, canon and OC.**

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**A/N: Hello all! I'm uploading this first chapter in hopes to gain some following in advance. The updates to this story will be sporadic for quite a while, very far and few in between.**

**However, I hope that in about a year, I'll be able to become a real member of the community. :) If you want to know more about me or whatever, check my bio! Don't be afraid to drop a PM if you want to drop ideas, review, or just leave a message! (Spoiler alert, I might not be able to respond for a long time, but I will, eventually.)**

**I REALLY appreciate reviews, I love seeing them pop up and reading them, no matter what they say, or how long they are. :)**

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So as an introduction to my format, I usually quote a song, book, movie, or person (such as in an interview) to summarize a chapter.

**Quote : Don't**_** you worry, don't you worry child, s****ee heaven's got a plan for you **_

**Artist (Or person who I am quoting) : Swedish House Mafia**

**Album (or source for quote) : Until Now**

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Beams of sunlight poured into a wintry valley, casting rainbows as the rays refracted off of the icy crystals covering the ground. Midora, the largest settlement of the Midorian Clan, which represented Creation, in the Kalys region, was where the clan royalty made their home, in the largest estate in the region, and old but stately castle.

Said castle was a large ivy covered stone castle, home to the King and Queen Klestalik, and their firstborn daughter, Arilyn Eurus, the crown princess.

Arilyn was said to have been born in the unluckiest conditions, in hour of the unluckiest day, of the unluckiest month, and with the mark of Opeli, the unluckiest spirit. But as the crown princess, even though a baby, she didn't have time to be unlucky. There were royal gatherings with the other clan lords and ladies, paintings and photographs, and besides all of that, her mother Sable couldn't imagine _her_ baby being unlucky. There was no such thing as luck. Now there _was_ favor, but that was decided by the controlling spirits of the world. And Sable couldn't even begin to think that her child, the princess, could be looked upon with disfavor.

The Kalys region was a large and diverse spread of land, made up of mountains and valleys, rivers and streams, and lush grasses and frigid ice. Its inhabitants were as ranged and different as its climates and landscapes, their being the "Magic People", as the people of the other side of Ninjago, past Kalys, called them, people descended from those gifted with powers from the elemental spirits.

Sable had hoped her daughter would possess _her_ elemental trait, the gift of musical ability, but Ashkii, her husband wanted her to possess _his_ trait, the gift of strategy.

It was possible she could hold both powers, but it was just as likely she had neither. One thing Ashkii and Sable could agree on, they didn't want her to turn up without any powers. A great leader needed these abilities, if only for the sake of defending their land. The times were changing, and while they didn't need to protect Kalys from a military siege, the developers from the eastern cities were trying to snatch the terrain of the Kalys people.

Sable was haunting the nursery as a nursemaid was gently rocking Arilyn. The baby was finally at an age where she could be left in the care of a nurse for a few hours, and Sable was a nervous wreck.

"Are you sure I can leave?" She asked with worry. She was planning to attend a leader's council, which only happened quarter annually. There were many scattered but informal meetings between the clan's leaders, but the leader's council was a large event.

"I'm quite sure, Your Highness." The nurse spoke.

"Only if you're very positive I can leave." Sable replied with a hint of agitation. She was a very young, and very new mother, and she could only imagine the worst things possible happening to her daughter.

"Yes ma'am. I'm positive."

"Alright, Faye, I trust you," The queen spoke softly, touching Arilyn's small cheek before leaving the nursery.

As Sable left wistfully, Faye sighed and laid the sleeping child in the crib. The queen was finally gone. Now Arilyn could actually sleep and not be bombarded with care. Sable meant only the best for her daughter, but this was her first child and she couldn't bear to do anything wrong. Faye pulled her long red hair back and sat in a rocking chair, reading quietly as she awaited the queen's return.

Ashkii and Sable arrived at the council meeting in their black Mercedes, driven by their chauffer Stefan, a blond and serious individual. When they stepped out at the Center Willow, an ancient willow tree standing at the very middle of the five territories, the other clan leaders and their assistants were waiting under the swaying branches.

Lord and Lady Parlin were complete opposites, Adelaide small and fair, Ozin burly and dark. They lead the clan Jevati, the clan that represented lightning.

Next was Lord Grespin, youngest of them all, and the leader of the Bentli clan. He was only nineteen, but the Fire clan had never seen a better leader.

The next to emerge from under the willow's shade was Lord and Lady Cristo, the clan Wrentt's, the Ice clan leaders.

Lastly, the Lady Doluth, leader of the Earth clan Mishuku. She was a widow, her husband dying of tuberculosis after only two years of marriage. She was now in her thirties, but she stood as a pillar of the royalty in Kalys.

When the clan leaders had greeted one another and assigned their assistants with their jobs, the leaders sat at the large stone table under the willow. It wasn't really a table, just a ginormous rock with smaller stones set around it that had been there for millennia, and it was a cherished but lightly used spot, set aside only for special meetings between clans.

As soon as they sat down, Lady Cristo spoke, "I'm sure we have other things to get to, but can I just mention the fact that the Akihiko inhabitants are not even slightly respecting the borders?"

Ashkii saw his wife stiffen. He placed a gentle hand on her arm and cleared his throat.

"Lady Cristo, madam, would you like to elaborate on your accusation? As far as I knew, the people of Akihiko were well liked in Wrentt, in Kalys even? And vice versa I might add."

The icy blonde stood formally. Lord Cristo looked surprised at her outburst, and reached for her hand, but she subtly moved it away and began to speak.

"King Ashkii, I was merely speaking of your... subjects...and their, ahem, _unique_ qualities. Some of the people in the villages in Wrentt were quite surprised, a few even terrified of their different neighbors. I assumed you knew to keep the refugees in their own region."

Ashkii looked as if he had rehearsed an answer already. "Lady Cristo. I am King, as you so addressed me. All of Kalys is in my jurisdiction, May I remind you, and as long as they are approved at the border, they are welcome in Kalys. We have a very strict process if an inhabitant of Akihiko wants to cross into Kalys. You know this."

"Yes, but sir, they just aren't... normal."

The whole region of Kalys was divided over the affair of King Klestalik's decision to start allowing the inhabitants of Akihiko into Kalys.

It began with an elf who had disguised himself as a human, in order to visit an apothecary for some herbs found only in a small part of Midora.

The herbs were to save his tribe in a deadly epidemic, and he was desperate to return a hero and savior. Desperate enough to break the law and risk his life.

When he was caught at the border, the terrified elf feared the worst, his silver eyes wide with terror. But in an act of mercy, the guard let him go with a whispered warning. Word got around, and more and more inhabitants of Akihiko began sneaking in, until the king himself called an intervention.

After a hearing with the leader of Akihiko, a centaur queen named Kistani, they came to an agreement, with heavily monitored and short visits to the other kingdoms.

Ashkii thought it advanced their community in a way no other leader had been able to achieve.

Some of the other leaders, and his subordinates, thought it was dangerous, as Lady Cristo voiced so loudly.

"Madame, I assure you, this is _good_ for our kingdom. Wouldn't you rather have allies instead of foes?"

"But, begging pardon your majesty-"

"Sit down Elsi!" Lord Cristo had had enough. His voice icily ordered. Everyone was a little stunned. They had never heard anyone be so stern at a meeting. A sacred one at that.

After everyone regained their composure, Lady Doluth cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, but we should get back to the matter at hand. Akihiko residents are in their full rights as long as they have entered Kalys legally Madame Cristo. I think King Ashkii was about to speak before you broke the unspoken rule that the king or queen spoke first."

Lady Cristo looked at Lady Doluth with shock, but she shut her mouth and sat down as Ashkii began to address the company and retell news of importance.

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A wail cut through the silence and a mother hurriedly stood and rushed to her baby, a dark headed daughter that looked just like her father.

"Hush honey...it's alright Mackenzie..." The mother cooed, moving to sit in the rocking chair and comfort her baby. She heard small footsteps pattering down the hall and sighed. Here came Cole. Her other child, a son who was 4 years old and Mackenzie's older brother, was awake. Cole was also impossible to put to bed. But she put a weary smile on her face and welcomed Cole as he seemed so pleased with himself for getting out of bed.

"Shhh... Sister's sleeping. What are you doing awake?" Saoirse asked as she brushed a raven lock off of his forehead.

"I'm big now. I want to be awake." Cole smiled with an endearing gap between his front teeth.

"But it's night night." Saoirse tried to explain for what seemed like the millionth time.

"'Zactly. That's when big kids are awake," Cole looked extremely serious, and his mother looked at him with an exaggerated serious face as he explained.

"I see. But you know, Mommy is tired. She wants to go to bed no that 'Kenzie is asleep again."

"I can stay up without you." Cole offered.

"No. I don't think so. But will you go to bed if I sing you a song?" Saoirse was desperate to get him to sleep.

"I think so," he replied, large brown eyes contemplating. His mother sighed in relief as she stood and laid the baby in the crib and carried Cole out of the master bedroom and down to his own room. It was clearly a rough and tumble boy's room, toy bins with trucks, cars, and all types of construction machinery scattered across the floor. Saoirse tried to avoid stepping on Legos and Hot Wheels cars as she carried Cole to the plain wooden bed. She laid him on the mattress and covered him up with his racecar blanket with a kiss on the forehead."Okay, you have to go to sleep while I sing, okay?" Saoirse asked.

"Yes, Mama." Cole smiled. And Saoirse began to sing a haunting lullaby in a language he didn't understand, but she called her "Home tongue". And within minutes her son was sleeping and she padded of to her bedroom where Mackenzie was thankfully still asleep. She lay down in her empty bed, placing her hand in her husband's absent place. Lou was in another town with his performance troupe, the Royal Blacksmiths. He was gone quite a bit, and this trip wasn't ending for another week.

She missed her husband greatly, but she was grateful for a husband who could provide for their children.

Another sigh and she fell asleep.

* * *

A young boy watched as his father crafted a "pet" for him, a magnificent falcon of tawny brown. The mechanical animal looked incredibly realistic, with paint and layered metals to match the look of feathers.

Zane watched as the bird took shape in awe. It was beautiful. Icy blue eyes trained on the skilled movement of Dr. Julian's hands. A screw here, wiring there, tiny tubes of conduit there, it was like a puzzle being arranged just so.

After a few hours, the body was complete. This wasn't including the hours before consisting of coding and programming, blueprinting and testing models that could fly, and now, after weeks of waiting, his pet was complete.

"Look Zane, he's finished." His father beamed.

"He's stunning, Father." Zane sighed with amazement.

"What will you call him?" Julian asked.

"Fledge." Zane replied promptly. A fitting name for his pet, he thought.

"Wonderful. I hope he'll help you find your way when times are tough." Julian shared a smile with his son as he began interacting with Fledge, his mind heavy with knowing what lay in store for his son.

* * *

Bright blue eyes wide with excitement, Jay Walker watched his father fold a paper airplane. The three year old was astounded that someone could make something that could actually fly with their _bare hands_. But Jay was sure that if anyone could do something that cool, his father could.

As soon as the careful folds were creased to , Ed handed his little boy the plane. It was a simple design, made of the daily funnies section of the newspaper, but to Jay, it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen, even better than the giant magnetic car crusher in the junkyard.

When Ed placed his work weathered hand over Jay's tiny toddler hands to help him aim the airplane, Jay smiled at his father, his two front teeth missing from an accident falling off of his tricycle onto the pavement. Ed smiled back and helped him throw the airplane across the room, the craft gliding through the long living room, looping and sailing until it hit the wall, and Jay squealed in excitement. How he had never known about paper airplanes and their glory before was crazy. This was something new and exciting, _and_ his father was basically a genius for being able to make these flying aircraft.

Jay was now convinced he had the best father in the world.

* * *

Three year old Kai and one year old Nya were sitting at the dinner table, giggling hysterically. Nya, in her high chair, was busy smearing mashed peas all over her face, and Kai couldn't get enough.

"Mama, mama, look!" Kai shrieked with laughter, giggling uncontrollably, and Nya banged her little plastic spoon against the tray, splattering green mush everywhere. Maya sighed and tried to keep a straight face as she walked into the breakfast nook from the kitchen.

"Nya... what are you doing?" Her exaggerated exasperation made Kai burst into laughter all over again.

After cleaning up her daughter and urging her son to finish his soup, Maya carried Nya and held Kai's hand as she led them upstairs to the bathroom for a bath.

As Maya turned to undress Nya after she had finished with Kai and he was plopped into the running tub, Kai turned a bottle of bubble bath upside down, pouring half of the bottle into the water. A giggle escaped his lips and Maya whirled. She knew that giggle all to well. A gasp at the rising mountain of bubbles induced giggles from both of her children.

"Look Mama!" Kai giggled proudly. Maya shook her head and set Nya into the warm bubbly water, unable to conceive how she would deal with these children.

At least they put a smile on her face. Maya picked up a handful of bubbles and set them on Kai's dark brown hair and scrubbed his scalp, and Nya gurgled at the sight of her brother with a pile of bubbles on his head, but the tables turned when Maya moved on to Nya and washed her raven hair and the bubbles mounded on top of her hair it was Kai's turn to laugh.

After bathtime was finally done, the hooded animal towels Maya wrapped them in elicited even more laughs. Kai made silly monkey noises in order to make his sister laugh, and was successful. Nya flapped her arms around and gurgled, her arms in the towel's sleeves waving like a bird's.

Maya hustled them to their bedroom, trying to quickly get them into their pajamas, Kai in his dragon pajama set and Nya had his hand-me-down racecar onesie. After placing Nya in her crib and Kai into his bed with some shenanigans, including pillow and stuffed animal throwing, Maya settled into her rocking chair to read them a story, a quick piece about a baby kangaroo, and then read silently to herself until they were asleep.

It took a while, but by the time Maya was able to walk out of the bedroom and close the door halfway, leaving it cracked open as to hear if they woke, it was nearly ten o clock, and Ray would be back from the job he was on, a meeting with a man whom he had known when he was younger to help him with something, neither of them knowing what, Maya listening in to the phone call behind Ray when the man had called to ask for help.

She walked downstairs, tucking her dark hair behind her ear, and Ray walked as she stepped off of the last stair, and one look at his face told Maya he had a story to tell.


End file.
